This anthology is designed for use in courses in feminist jurisprudence, jurisprudence and the philosophy of law. Feminist legal philosophy has generated a great deal of interest among feminists, philosophers, legal scholars, sociologists and political scientists in recent years. The readings in this collection are organized according to the traditional topics in a typical jurisprudence course: the nature and justification of law; judicial reasoning and the process of adjudication; and the connection between law and equality, freedom and justice. At the same time, they provide balanced coverage of those feminist topics of current interest that are most discussed in legal and philosophical literature today.
Industry Reviews
"This book is important primarily because it is so clear and explicit in setting forth the ideology of radical or gender feminism in relationship to the law."--Issues in Child Abuse Accusations
"The reader gets a fully developed view of the complexity of feminist jurisprudence without being overwhelmed....This brief review cannot do justice to the wealth of material available in Smith's book, which represents the work of many of the major voices in feminist jurisprudence....Smith's volume frees those of us who now teach these courses from the burden and questionable legality of endless photocopying. It gives us and our students a substantial and
wisely chosen sampling of writing in a now-flourishing area of jurisprudence."--The Review of Politics
"To approach the issue of women's rights from a legal perspective may be much more productive then the usual ethical approaches. Good book!"--Manuel Davenport, Texas A&M University
"Would be adopted for or stimulate interest in graduate and third-year law school courses on feminist jurisprudence. It would also be of interest as a required or recommended text in philosophy of law and jurisprudence courses taught in universities with strong philosophy and political science major programs."--Laurence Houlgate, California Polytechnic Institute
"The materials selected for the collection are of the highest quality. Their organization not only reflects the state of the questions but also a deft sense of the point of teaching jurisprudence."--J.R. Lindgren, Lehigh University
"An excellent collection of materials by leading feminist legal scholars."--Patricia Smith, College of William and Mary
"Excellent and comprehensive."--Steven Ross, Hunter College
"Excellent compilation, especially as it is divided into comprehensive categories, which is not easy to do with a mass of literature in this field."--Stuart R. Cohn, University of Florida
"First rate survey of the relevant literature....Essential reading for all philosophers of law."--Raymond A. Belliotti, State University of New York at Fredonia
"This is an outstanding text containing the "must read" articles in feminist legal theory. There is no question that in a course I am designing on women and the law, this book will occupy a central role."--David Schultz, Trinity University
"This is an excellent anthology, ideal for an advanced course on jurisprudence and useful for the philosopher of law. The introductions to each part are clear and illuminating, the issues chosen the most important ones, and (best of all) the quality of the selections is very high."--Carl Wellman, Washington University
"This book does an excellent job of framing the status of women in contemporary American society. The chapters are substantive, timely, and readable."--Mary E. Guy, University of Alabama, Birmingham
"A wonderful and illuminating synopsis of feminist theory. This inquiry into the nature of the law and its presumptions is critical reading for any educated person inside or outside of academia. The language is concise and informative."--Aminah McCloud, DePaul University
"This is a fine introduction to the subject. It contains many of the best writings in feminist jurisprudence up to 1990, and contains the work of leading feminist legal scholars in the U.S. An excellent text."--Lynne Henderson, Indiana University, Bloomington
